


Ailim

by Canadiantardis



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Elves, Fauns & Satyrs, Gen, Hellhounds, How Do I Tag, My project, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Species, Original Universe, kinda medieval
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-05
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:18:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3811957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's finally here, everyone! This was my final project to graduate college (this was much better than doing something called an ISS that people in Social and Sciences had to do). The premise of the story is a young girl, Madeline, is told she is part of this prophecy to save a species called the Ailims. A small adventure, really.<br/>Hope you enjoy</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ailim

 

Her chest heaved as she stopped running. She didn’t know how long she had been running away or where she was anymore. Everything looked the same in the Crego Forest, especially when she was somewhere in the middle of it.

 _He should be gone._ She thought, trying to calm her heart and breath. _I think I lost him now._

Suddenly she heard a loud roar, a sound that could have caused weak-hearted creatures to die instantly from fright. Her own heart stopped briefly before racing in fear.

 _No, I thought I lost him!_ Her thoughts raced. _Where can I escape now?!_

She hesitated, and suddenly a shadow towered over her, and a blood-red hand descended to grab her…

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Gasping, Madeline woke with a start, sitting up, fearing the shadow would be in front of her. Her eyes darted around her room quickly before relaxing, as she found nothing.

Maddie sighed, leaning back on her bed before realizing the sun was streaming through her window and bolted up again, this time groaning. She was supposed to be up an hour ago from the sun’s position.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, feet dangling a few inches above the floor and reluctantly got up.

She walked to her wardrobe, finding a light shirt and long skirt to wear, and changed into them.

After she deemed herself ready to be seen, Maddie left her room and hurried to the dining area, hoping there was maybe some fruit to eat. The hall was quiet and empty, and Maddie knew they were all gone by now. She found an apple and left with it, eating quickly. She had to hurry to get to the barn to start her chores.

Maddie reached the barn and froze when she saw her mother milking the cow, looking up when the door creaked. Her peaceful look turned stony, Maddie mentally wincing. Of course she was going to be told off for accidently sleeping late.

“Here. Now, Madeline.” Mother said, looking back to finish milking.

Maddie sighed and walked with her head low, not able to look her mother in the eye. It didn’t matter what Maddie did, her mother would get mad at her over anything she didn’t start right on time.

“Why weren’t you ready an hour ago?” Mother asked pointedly.

“I don’t know. I slept in a little longer.” Maddie thought about her dream. She thought about telling her, but decided against it. She wouldn’t care, most likely.

“How could you sleep in on a day like this?” Mother spun around, having finished milking the cow.

Maddie blinked, not understanding what her mother meant by ‘day like this’. Nothing special was going on, was there?

“Day like this, Mother?” She asked, and her mother huffed, putting the milk bucket down to cross her arms.

“Yes, don’t you remember?” She asked, exasperated. It only made Maddie more confused.

“I do not think I know what you are implying, Mother.” Maddie told her, causing her to give another sigh.

“Some important people are visiting today, looking for young girls. Not much is known about why, but it is important you are presentable. You hear me, Madeline? You should try to finish your chores in the next couple hours so I can fix that rat nest you call hair.” Mother grabbed the bucket again and passed her daughter out the door, looking at her hair with distaste.

Maddie looked around herself, at a loss for words.

“Is she serious?” She demanded from the cow, who glanced at her balefully before going back to eating. “Course you won’t answer, you always take her side since she’s able to milk you better.”

She trudged into the barn fully, grabbing the pitchfork to continue with her chores. While she worked, she thought about what her mother had told her, but grew frustrated with not understanding what she meant. Why was the Sestein royal family looking for young girls? There were no princes anywhere near her age, or who was still looking to court someone, so the most logical idea was scrapped.

The questions kept her mind busy as she finished her chores, and in a few hours, she was returning to her home to meet with her mother and the dreaded hair brush.

“My, you take forever, you know!” Mother sighed as she sat Maddie in front of the mirror she had set up in the kitchen, brush in hand.

“I am sorry, Mother. I thought I was working faster than normal, because you did say it was an important day.” Maddie replied meekly, wincing with every stroke of the brush. It wasn’t her fault her hair never stayed nice when she did chores.

“Uh huh, I know, Madeline. But I just…” Mother’s voice softened, something Maddie does not normally hear except when she is sick. “I want to have you look good when they come here.”

“Are you sure you don’t know why they want young girls, Mother?” She asked, sighing as her mother stopped brushing and started braiding her hair in twin lines down her back.

“No, I do not know, Madeline. Nayr only told me that they had seen her child, but didn’t tell her anything.” Mother finished braiding and fixed the stubborn locks of hair that refused to stay in the braid before Maddie swatted her away, doing it herself.

“Uh-” Maddie started.

There was a loud knock on the front door and both females jumped, Mother rushing to the door to invite the people in. Maddie stood up and smoothed her skirt and tried to look presentable as she saw her mother usher a couple tall creatures in. Maddie almost gasped as she realized one was an elf, and the other was an old satyr.

The two saw Maddie and nodded to her as she curtsied.

“Please. Sit.” The elf gestured to the seat she had just left, his voice deep like the earth. “We just wish to talk with you first.”

“Yes, sir.” Maddie glanced at Mother nervously as she sat.

“What is your name, child?” The satyr asked, his voice sounding fatherly, and Maddie felt like she could trust him.

“My name is Madeline.”

“How old are you, Madeline?”

“I will be fifteen in late summer.”

“You are the youngest child we have asked so far, I see.” The elf remarked, receiving a bewildered look from Maddie, but he didn’t explain more.

There was a loud silence for several moments before Maddie asked, “If you do not mind my question, why are you looking for young girls, good sirs?”

“Ah, well.” The satyr looked at his companion uncertainly. “Maybe you should answer this, since you know more about it.”

The elf grunted. “Simply put, we must find who this is about.” He reached into his cloak and pulled a cloudy glass ball, the size of Maddie’s two fists put together.

He held it out to her, obviously knowing she was curious to see what it was.

As soon as she touched the cool glass, the cloudiness turned dark, as if there was a mini storm inside the ball.

Maddie gasped, nearly dropping the ball as words, written in fancy script, appeared on the surface:

“Last of kind

Last to save

Returning land to restore

Save her before the day of ends.”

All four were in varying degrees of surprise or shock: Mother nearly went faint, the elf had raised both eyebrows slightly, and the satyr nearly fell sideways in surprise, while Maddie was frozen with shock and surprise.

“Ah, so that is what it says.” The elf said, stepping forward to shake Maddie’s free hand kindly. “We have found what we were looking for.”

“Yes, it seems so.” The satyr replied, smiling warmly. “Madeline, I would like to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Newt, and this is my companion, Galdor. We are from the King’s special army, and had been asked by him to search for the one who was meant to read the prophecy.”

“Prophecy?” Maddie had heard the word before. The closest was the age old tale of the brave young mage who had been prophesied to be king thousands of years ago. But that was a children’s bedtime story; prophecies couldn’t be real.

“Yes, child.” The elf, Galdor, said. “What you had just read was a prophecy made centuries ago, and only the one who could read it would be the one to fulfill it. We have been searching for several years, scouring the realm of Yama to find the young lady who would fulfill it.”

“My good sirs, how did you know it was a young lady who would read this?” Mother piped up.

“There is a small piece of parchment that gives one small detail on who it is we search for.” Newt, the satyr, responded. “And on this had the words ‘young, lady’ scrawled over it.”

The three adults continued to talk, but Maddie stopped listening, too preoccupied with her thoughts to care about what they were saying.

 _How can I be a part of some prophecy?_ She thought quickly. _Why would I be the one this prophecy is about?_

“Maddie?” Her eyes snapped to at her mother’s voice, returning to the present and noticing the three adults were looking at her almost expectantly.

“Um, yes?” She asked awkwardly.

Her mother gave a resigned sigh. “You were not listening to what these two were saying, were you?”

Maddie made to excuse herself but Newt interrupted her. “It is quite alright, Madam. It would make sense for anyone who hears a prophecy to need a few moments to collect themselves.” He smiled at the girl encouragingly, and Maddie returned the smile in relief.

“Yes, sorry. It’s just a lot to take in; I just needed to think more about it.” She repeated. “I just, cannot understand how this could be about me, or that I have a hand in whatever it was about.”

“Listening to the prophecy now, it does make sense we would find the young lady now.” Newt remarked to his companion, almost as if Maddie and her mother were not there.

“Oh, yes!” The elf’s features turned green, which for most elves was a human’s equivalent of paling. It worried Maddie to see an elf worried.

“What is it, sir?” Maddie asked nervously.

“Oh, well, you see.” The elf had to think before answering. “Something bad has happened, very recently, and it seems to match up with the prophecy, and it could now be in dire circumstances.”

“What my companion is trying to say is that we will need you to come with us as soon as possible.” Newt said soothingly, trying to calm Maddie who felt like a newborn calf coming face-to-face with a wolf.

“Why do you need my daughter so badly?” Mother asked, placing a comforting hand on Maddie’s cheek. “What does this prophecy mean?”

“There is a lot to talk about, but not enough time to explain, if what we think is true, Madam.” Galdor explained. “There is a species being threatened and your child is the way to save them from dying out.”

Both Maddie and her mother froze, one in confusion, the other in shock.

 _There’s an entire species resting on this? No way._ Maddie couldn’t even think straight.

Suddenly, she remembered parts of the strange dream she had woken from.

 _Did that dream have anything to do with this?_ Maddie mentally shook her head. _That’s silly, it was just a dream, it couldn’t mean anything._

“We do not have enough time to talk. We must move and bring you to see them.” The elf’s words snapped Maddie back into the present.

“Yes.” Mother looked solemn, an expression Maddie rarely saw on her outside of formal days.

She turned to Maddie as if she was going to tell her to start her chores, but the words were almost the total opposite.

“Pack what these two admit, and I shall make some food for the road.”

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Maddie never got to say goodbye to her father, her brothers, their wives or her nephews. The only person Maddie got to say goodbye to was her mother. The others were all working or too far to allow the small group to wait for.

She turned back once more, at the dot in the distance that was her home, the only place she knew as well as the back of her hand.

“It will be fine.” Newt reassured her as she turned back to the path ahead of her. “This should not be the last time you see your mother or your home. Do not shed tears.”

He wiped a finger over her cheek. Maddie had not realized she had started to cry until then.

“But, this is.” She took a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves as she looked up at her two new companions. “I’ve never gone too far away from my home on my own before.”

“It can be a frightening thing, but we will protect you from anything that would try to harm any of us on this journey.” Galdor spoke, trying to sound comforting. Maddie appreciated it, but it didn’t help how she felt.

“Come, we should get there before nightfall if we hurry. It should not be too far.” Newt led the way, Maddie walking beside him with Galdor walking behind them.

“Where are we going?” Maddie asked, feeling stupid that she had missed the location when she had been with her mother.

“To where the last of the species is hiding.”

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They did not make it to the location before the sun fell, but were too close to stop for the night, so the elf held a torch and they reached a hidden rotting cabin that would barely fit three grown centaurs. Galdor approached the door to the cabin and called out. Maddie heard a young female voice answer, and the door swung open to reveal a strange creature Maddie had never heard about or seen before.

She looked humanoid, no older than Maddie herself, with tanned skin, but had scales like a snake scattered across her skin like freckles. Her hair reminded Maddie of seaweed, like a mermaid’s, and she had large doe eyes with a kaleidoscope of eye colours, changing from green to blue to purple to pink to red. It captivated Maddie once she noticed the eyes. She was small and incredibly thin, her elf-like dress making it very apparent. She had thin wrists and looked too weak to even milk a docile cow.

She walked towards Maddie and Newt, and Maddie noticed she didn’t wear any footwear.

 _Strange creature indeed._ Maddie thought as the creature stopped in front of her.

“You are Madeline?” Her voice sounded like a bubbling creek.

Maddie nodded, forcing a shy smile. “Yes, that is my name.”

The creature gave a bright smile, her teeth very human and a dazzling white. “I am Narissa Sealocke, the last of the Ailims.”

Maddie narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side slightly, trying to remember if she had ever heard of those creatures, but could not. “Ailims?”

“Yes. That is my species, Madeline. Like how you’re human, I’m an Ailim. We are close in relation to mermaids and naiads, but we are land creatures.” Narissa continued to smile as she spoke, a kind smile that helped relax Maddie. “I believe we were the children of a mermaid and a human.”

“How come I have never, ever, heard of your species before?” Maddie could not get her head around that notion. She was not stupid, she had learned about the many types of creatures that lived along with humans, but had never heard anyone talk about a species called Ailim.

“We have always been a very small species that did not interact with many other kinds of creatures. We move around a lot, too.” Narissa explained. “We are also still a very young species compared to even those Halflings–you know, half-elf and half-human.”

Maddie nodded, understanding. When she was learning all of the creatures, everyone had only just heard about Halflings popping up all over, ever since elves and humans were allowed to court and wed. But to her knowledge, mermaids and humans were still uneasy towards each other, allowing the other to be friends but never courting each other. It was an odd thought to understand.

“Well, now that introductions are over,” Galdor spoke up when the two young girls fell silent, “Newt and I must tell you one more thing before you are to start your journey.”

“‘Our journey’? Are you two not joining us?” Narissa spun to the two adults with a hint of fright in her voice.

Newt nodded. “We cannot. Our assignment was to find the ‘young lady’ of the prophecy and bring her to you, Miss. We have done so.”

“You are telling us we are going to have to travel on our own, with no way of telling where to go or how to defend ourselves?” Maddie felt fear settle in her stomach like lead.

“No, no, of course not.” Newt rushed. Raising his arms to placate the young girls. “We have asked a youth to help, and he should be near here somewhere.” He raised his head and sniffed before nodding and heading in a seemingly random direction.

Moments later, Newt returned with a young satyr, maybe around seventeen years for humans. He seemed different from most satyrs, who were normally dark-furred, but he was blond, though he wasn’t albino because his eyes were the colour of summer leaves. Maddie watched him curiously, wondering how he was blond when all other satyrs were normally brown, red or black furred.

“This is Orion, who will accompany you two on your journey.” Newt introduced the strange satyr to the young girls.

Maddie continued to look at Orion without saying anything, but Narissa came forward and offered a hand.

“Hello, Orion. I am Narissa Sealocke; it is pleasant to meet you.” Maddie realized offhandedly that Narissa was very formal for being so young. Maybe it was her culture.

“Hey.” Orion almost grunted his response, not even acknowledging the proffered hand or Narissa, instead looking up at Maddie. “I’m Orion Hirsch. And who are you?”

It was as if Narissa wasn’t even in front of him, which surprised both girls. Narissa’s smile became forced, but Maddie was having none of it.

“My name is Madeline, and I believe you have rudely ignored Narissa’s friendly hand.” Maddie crossed her arms and glared at the strange satyr until he shook hands with Narissa.

Galdor and Newt looked between the three youth carefully.

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“We must be going now.” Galdor said the next morning.

They had all stayed around the falling building for the night, the three young ones talked amongst each other to get to know one another. Maddie and Narissa quickly became close, while Orion kept trying to smooth talk Maddie with no avail. They had talked about where they needed to go, and had an idea in mind: The birthplace of the first Ailim on the other side of the nearest mountain region. Narissa told them that the first Ailim was born there when a human sailor and a merman fell in love and had a child by the ocean just past the mountains to the northwest of where they were, according to the map the adults had given them for their journey.

“Are you certain you cannot accompany us?” Narissa asked one final time.

“We are sorry, child.” Newt said sadly. “But we cannot. We must return to our duties. You three should be fine. Orion is a fine protector. You will also be passing through cities where you may ask for assistance when needed. We have marked the places on your map where you can stay on the way.”

“Sir, can I ask you something, before you go?” Maddie asked, suddenly remembering.

“Yes, child, what is it?” Newt knelt in front of Maddie with warmth in his eyes.

“The prophecy said I had to save Narissa’s species before the ‘day of ends,’ but I do not know of such a day.” Maddie had recalled the ending of the prophecy.

“Ah, the day of ends is what is now described as the festival of the new year.” Galdor explained. “It is when winter becomes spring.”

Maddie thought for a bit, before smiling. Spring was in almost a year from now, as it was the middle of summer now. They had plenty of time to reach the birthplace of the Ailims. It would only take a month to reach the place.

“We wish you three the best of luck.” Galdor said as the two adults began walking away.

Maddie looked between the three of them. “So, shall we be going now?”

“If we want to reach the first friendly town before nightfall, I think we should.” Orion stated, looking over the map.

Orion took the lead, having the best direction, while the girls walked behind caring the bags full of food, equipment, and clothes.

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The three had been travelling for two week before complications started.

“What do you mean the bridge is out?” Orion demanded at the human carpenter.

“I mean the stupid bridge is completely broken. Storm did it in.” The carpenter growled. “It will take about a month for the bridge to be fixed.”

“Do we have time to wait?” Narissa asked.

“No, I think we should get to your people’s birthplace as soon as possible, no lounging about.” Maddie replied.

“Is there another way around?”

“Hmm, Orion?” Maddie called the satyr over before he started fighting with the carpenter. “Is there another way around?”

“Gimme a minute.” Orion took out the map and spent a couple minutes looking at it.

“So?” Growing impatient, Maddie poked Orion for an answer.

“Hang on, the paths going around are a bit dangerous.” Orion brought the map to the ground and pointed to various paths. “Here, goblin’s territory, and over there is the forest, which has another bridge to pass through, but it’s filled with different creatures, both friend and foe. The bridge is the best bet, but we can’t use it because of the weather.”

“Then let us just go through the forest.” Narissa said. “If there are friends in the forest, we could get through quickly.”

“If we’re lucky.” Orion rolled his eyes. “We’d have to find some nice creatures first, not foes.”

“What do you mean, foes?” Maddie asked.

“I mean, the few goblins, trolls, and insane wild centaurs. If we find nymphs or dryads, or even the nice centaurs or unicorns, we’d be golden and can get through the forest without a hitch, but there are even fewer nice creatures than ones we do not want to meet.”

“Well, I say we go through the forest.” Maddie stated. “We need to get to the base of the mountains quickly, and we are so close.”

“It’ll take an extra couple days if we go through the forest, but if we make it out, we should be good still.” Orion told the girls, packing up.

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“Wow.” Maddie couldn’t explain with words how impressive the forest towered over them was.

“It’s like the bottom of the ocean I lived nearby.” Narissa’s large eyes grew larger, if that was possible.

The only one who was unimpressed was Orion, who continued to walk into the forest carefully. “Come on, you two. The longer we stay in here, the longer it’ll take to get out the other side.”

The girls snapped out of their daze and rushed to catch up with the satyr.

It was quiet for the first day of travelling. Orion told them they needed to set up a watch for the night. Maddie was given the last shift near dawn. She fell asleep almost immediately.

She wasn’t sure what time it was when a shriek startled her awake. She bolted up, looking around for the source, finding Narissa struggling against what Maddie thought was the night itself. She grabbed her dagger, something her mother had given to her before she left home.

“Narissa!” She cried, slashing wildly just above the Ailim girl, shocked to feel her dagger connect with something.

A pained howl came from the creature, yellow eyes spin to face her, equally yellow teeth bared.

Maddie had heard about Hellhounds, but had never heard what they look like. The thing was massive, two times bigger than the cow Maddie milks back home, and just as wide. It stepped off Narissa, choosing Maddie as its new prey. Maddie held the dagger in front of her protectively, shuffling backwards. Her sight narrowed in fear, only seeing Hellhound in front of her.

She continued to back away slowly until she was backed up to a tree. The Hellhound seemed to know its prey had nowhere to run, and began to hunker down to pounce on the girl when several arrows flew into its flank, a couple striking its head. The Hellhound gave a high pitched whine before falling over, dead.

Maddie let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding, looking to where the arrows flew from, knees weak at seeing Orion nocking another arrow warily.

“You okay? It didn’t scratch you or anything, right?” Maddie shook her head, looking at her arms.

“I’m fine.” Maddie felt herself relax before realizing the reason she had woken up. “Narissa! It attacked her first.”

The two rushed over to Narissa. She was still on the ground, unconscious. Orion checked her over before giving a small gasp.

“What? She wasn’t hurt, was she?” Maddie bit her lip, putting Narissa’s head onto her lap.

“I can’t tell. There is blood, but I can’t tell if it’s hers or the hound’s. It’s too dark to see the colour right now, and dawn won’t be here for another hour or so.” Orion looked to the sky. “We might need to make a fire to see if she is hurt or not.”

The two picked up the Ailim girl carefully and put her down on a blanket by the now empty fire pit.

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“We can’t carry her all the way out.” Orion voiced the thought Maddie was dreading.

“Why can-” Maddie tried to deny the statement but the satyr spoke over her.

“You wouldn’t be able to carry her for however long it would take to get to the next city, and I need to watch out for the creatures who mean us harm.” Orion stated clearly, letting no room for arguments.

“Well, protecting us went so well.” Maddie gestured to their friend. She was bleeding from a graze the Hellhound gave her, but because it was a Hellhound-made injury, it was poisoned.

They had to get to a healer as soon as possible. The extent Orion could help was limited. He had never had to deal with Hellhounds and had not planned for even entering the forest, so did not pack much medical plants.

“That wasn’t my fault.” Orion reddened, but Maddie saw the flash of guilt in his eyes as he looked over at Narissa. “We were all lulled into a false calm.”

Maddie bit her cheek, unsure how to react. She wanted to be mad at someone, and the only one she could be mad at was Orion. She knew it wasn’t really his fault, and didn’t want him to believe so, but didn’t want to give up blaming him just yet.

“At least let me carry her today. We’ll go as fast as we can for as long as we can, okay?” She looked at him as he sighed in defeat and nodded.

“Whatever. You’re the leader in this adventure.”

Maddie paused mid-pack. She was the leader? _No, that’s silly. Orion was the oldest and the protector, he was the leader. He must be._

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The two travelled for a long way, stopping every so often to change the bandage around Narissa’s wound on her right forearm, when they found a stroke of luck.

“Who goes?” A lilting voice was heard to their left, hidden by trees.

“Travellers on a very urgent journey.” Orion called. “Who goes yourself?”

“I am Aida, a scout from the nearest town.” The elf walked until she was standing over the young ones. “We heard Hellhound calls, and I was sent to investigate.”

“Oh!” Maddie eagerly told the elf, Aida, what had happened to them, and about Narissa, jostling her a bit to emphasize her urgency.

“Hmm, we might be able to help, but there are not many expert healers in town at the moment.” Aida took Narissa in her arms. “But there should be one who knows something about healing a Hellhound wound. Come.”

She turned on her heel, the Ailim girl still in her arms, causing the other two to quickly hurry after them. Soon they reached a small town in the middle of the forest, surrounded by sturdy walls to keep out unwanted creatures. There were mostly elves living in the town, but Maddie saw humans and dryads walking around.

Aida brought them to a small building, possibly one of the few that had a chimney in the town. She knocked before entering, calling out to whoever was the healer.

Maddie and Orion walked in after the elf, Maddie closing the door after them, looking around in curiosity. She saw many jars of strange looking liquids, some holding plants or the odd eye. Herbs and drying plants hung from the low ceiling, and a large pot hung over the fireplace. Several small cots lined the very far wall, a couple holding an ailing elf and human. Hovering over a sleeping woman was an elderly man who wore the garb of a healer; the long dress-like tunic covered in pockets and loops to hold various vials and plants and other such items.

The healer looked up, seeing Aida with Narissa in her arms, and gestured to the cot opposite the one occupied.

Aida strode over to the cot and lowered Narissa carefully down, gesturing to the two to come. Maddie hurried to her sick friend, Orion right beside her.

The healer spent another few minutes with the woman before turning to see the small group around the girl.

“What happened to this one?” He asked in a kind but weary voice.

“I found them along the path, they say she was attacked by the Hellhound we heard before.” Aida told him precisely.

“She was grazed slightly by the thing, sir.” Maddie offered as the healer looked over the wound. “She hasn’t woken since she was attacked.”

“Hmm.” The healer spent several seconds looking at the wound before looking up at Orion. “Satyr, did you try to heal her yourself?”

“No, sir.” Orion shook his head. “I was never taught about Hellhounds much.”

“And you would have two young girls with you in such a forest _filled_ with Hellhounds without knowing how to deal with this kind of emergency?” He looked about ready to reprimand the boy.

“We didn’t mean to come through the forest when we started our journey.” Maddie defended. “We meant to reach the city by bridge, but it was broken. This was the second safest route for us.”

“This is still very dangerous, young lady.” The healer looked disapprovingly at both Orion and Maddie before going back to work with Narissa’s wound. “But, it is good fortune you were found when you were. Another few hours and the poison from the wound would have killed this girl. I will be able to save her, though it will be tricky. Boy, you will help me so you may learn.”

Orion nodded and when the healer told him to get such and such plant or jar or something, he would fetch it. Maddie and Aida stayed out of the way, sitting together on a cot, watching the two work. Maddie had asked why Aida didn’t leave them there, and she had told her she would make sure they were okay before leaving to tell the leader of the town what she had learned.

Narissa took a long while to get better. Maddie and Orion were allowed to stay in the healer’s home while Orion and he spent a lot of time caring for the wound. The leaves turned to red and fell from the trees, and soon it began to snow.

Soon, Maddie saw Narissa start to look better, the wound on her arm smaller than it had been when they first got to the town, but she still wasn’t waking. The healer and Orion grew worried as she wouldn’t wake, the healer stating she should have woken by now since the poison was leaving her system.

“She should have woken a day or so ago, actually.” The healer, Cole, admitted when the three sat together to have a small dinner of stew Maddie had made for the others while they were busy with caring for the ill.

“Do you have any idea why she hasn’t yet, Cole?” Orion asked, munching on some bread. The stew had chucks of meat and Maddie had forgotten satyrs do not eat meat.

“I simply do not know. Then again, I’ve never aided such a creature, so I might not have the correct guesses.” Cole replied. “I have at least cared for the biggest problem, but it does not make sense that she hadn’t woken up.”

“I am sure she’ll wake up soon.” Maddie tried to stay positive, but she was also worried about her friend. “But, Orion, we also still need to hurry to the place, you know?”

Orion gave a start, as if he had forgotten about the adventure or the reason they dared to enter the forest.

“We can’t travel with her like this, Maddie.” He told her, glancing at the Ailim girl.

“Maybe we can have something to help us get through the rest of the forest, and when we get to the city, we can ask for a horse. We only have a month and a half left, and we are still a while from our destination.” Maddie countered, knowing she had to convince her friend that they needed to hurry. “We do not have the time to wait for her to wake up.”

“Yes we do, Maddie! Our destination is about a week or so away from here on foot, and if we get a horse, it will take less. We do not have to worry.” Orion argued.

“No, Orion. If we just waste away our time limit, it will pass us and Narissa’s species will die out.” She urged her friend to see reason. She had thought the same thing when they started their journey, but with the slowdown for Narissa, who knew what other complications they could face.

The satyr huffed, before relenting. “Fine, we’ll leave in a few days. We need to replenish our stuff and make sure we have enough to last a while.”

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Aida came by to accompany the trio out of the forest, saying she would be their guide and helper. Maddie was very happy for another person to help them, so she wouldn’t be the only one who would carry Narissa.

They took fewer breaks and were already halfway through the forest when night fell again. Aida told the two to gather wood for a fire that could last the entire night, which was a good way to ward off the dark creatures. They set up a watch schedule, and Maddie fell asleep after her watch was over.

The next day, the small group continued walking the path until Orion gave a shout, seeing the thinning of the trees up ahead. A few hours they finally made it through the forest.

Maddie turned to Aida, who was prepared to walk back to the town.

“Thank you so much for your help, Aida.” She smiled at the tall elf woman.

Aida returned the smile. “It was my pleasure, Maddie. I wish you and your group the best of luck on your journey.”

With that, the elf returned to the forest, leaving Orion and Maddie to carry Narissa. They began walking again, and saw the city a few hours ahead of them.

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They reached the city the next morning, and were soon able to obtain a horse for the rest of the journey. Maddie and Orion had to plan how they would travel with the horse and the still unconscious Narissa, and decided to have Maddie ride with Narissa while Orion ran with the horse. Like all satyrs, Orion was fast on his feet, keeping pace with a horse going at a run, but couldn’t if the horse went on full gallop.

Maddie checked on their friend again as she had Narissa lay on the horse’s back, hoping she would wake up. It looked like she was sleeping, her large eyes moving behind thin eyelids. They moved erratically, like when Maddie’s younger brother would have nightmares. She hoped her friend was okay.

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The group travelled for a little over a week, passing through various cities that were marked on the map for replenishing food or gear or medicine for Narissa. Orion told Maddie they were nearing their destination, just a couple days away from the seaside region they had been aiming for.

Maddie was excited. She had never been to the sea or ocean before. To be honest, she had never been far from her home, so everything was new to her.

The only thing that kept her from being truly excited about what she was about to see was the still unconscious girl lying in front of her on the horse. Narissa was getting better, and her wound was healing nicely, but she would still not wake from her dream. Maddie had hoped she would wake over the week, but she never did.

“Okay, let’s rest here.” Orion panted, hands on goaty knees.

Maddie nodded and slid off the horse, keeping Narissa on to save time: it took several minutes for the two teens to get her up or off the horse.

They ate some still good bread and drank some water, not talking much.

Maddie turned to glance over at Narissa with a frown. “How do we know anything will happen if she’s not awake when we get there?”

Orion took a few seconds to chew thoughtfully before swallowing and answering. “Maybe we had to have her unconscious when we get there. Who knows? I haven’t been around too long to really know for certain about prophecies.”

She bit her lip, turning back to Orion. “I hope so. I don’t want this journey to have been for nothing.”

They went silent again, packing up and moving forward until the sun was setting.

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They finally reached the x on the map, a small abandoned fishing village hidden by thick trees and calm waters. There was a small stream that flowed from the sea to a pond in the middle of the village. A light mist was dissipating as sunlight touched the broken roofs, creating a surreal image for Maddie and Orion.

They took shelter in the only house that had a good roof and most of its walls still up, keeping the horse nearby. Maddie did not know how they would save Narissa’s species, so they began to settle down for a long day.

Orion told her he was going to look around to find something to eat, and while he went out, Maddie watched over Narissa. She noticed the Ailim was looking really dry, and so took a cloth to wipe her forehead with water from the pond.

As soon as a drop of water fell on Narissa’s skin, her eyelids stilled, and Maddie looked at her closely.

 _Maybe…_ Maddie thought, carefully picking up her friend and carrying her to the pond, gently laying her in the water to let her float.

The water seemed to spark, and became clear for several seconds before returning to normal, Narissa breathing deeply. Maddie watched her friend closely, crying out when the girl’s eyes flew open and she jerked upright.

Maddie and Narissa stayed where they were, staring at the other until they both heard twigs snapping as Orion came galloping in, bewildered.

“What? Why’d you yell?” He puffed, hands on knees, looking up to see Maddie, before seeing Narissa. “YOU’RE ALIVE!”

Narissa jumped at the shout, but smiled at her friends anyway. She didn’t understand why they were so surprised. She had only had a small nap, hadn’t she?

Maddie leant forward to hug her friend, overwhelmed but happy to see her friend finally awake.

“Why are you so happy to see me? I haven’t been gone.” Narissa muttered sweetly.

Maddie held Narissa at arm’s length, tilting her head slightly in confusion. “Yes… You were. You don’t remember?”

It was Narissa’s turn to tilt her head. “Remember what? I only took a small nap…” Her eyes registered the new environment and she trailed off, bewildered. “What?”

Maddie and Orion sat down beside the pond and explained what had happened to her and the rest of the trip.

“I was not awake for months?” She asked, dumbfounded. “But, it felt like I was only taking a nap, no more than a few minutes!”

Orion shook his head. “No, you were almost dead to the world. Had us very worried that you would never wake up. How did you wake up, anyway?”

Maddie spoke up. “I put her in the pond and she just, I don’t really know, woke up. The water changed colours for a couple seconds, and there you were, wide awake like nothing happened.”

Narissa soaked up the information, too surprised to reply.

The three spent the rest of the day telling Narissa everything that happened. It soon became dark, and Orion asked Narissa to come back into the house for the night. She agreed and they went back to the house, Maddie making a fire to warm them up.

That night, a sound woke the three up. It sounded like branches snapping and Orion went forward to check, sword at the ready.

It wasn’t long before the girls heard Orion call out for them to come out and meet the newcomers. Surprised, they carefully left the house to see…

A trio of creatures about the same age as they were. Two were female, and one was male. One girl was human, tall and thin, as if she would be royalty. She had long dark hair, almost golden eyes, and tanned skin.

The other girl was a young elf, possibly not even a century old, and had short white gold hair, milk white skin and beautiful bark brown eyes watching the new girls approach them with caution.

The boy standing behind the girls, as if being protected, was a sight that made Narissa gasp in surprise. He looked a lot like her; the only difference was he had soft, sea moss type hair instead of Narissa’s seaweed type hair. His eyes had darker colours compared to Narissa’s myriad of eye colours.

It was when Maddie saw the scale-like freckles that she realized the boy was another Ailim.

The whole group paused, uncertain how to react to the others, before Narissa took a few steps forward, keeping her eyes locked on the male Ailim as if he would disappear if she took her eyes off him. The boy also moved forward, until the two were face-to-face, taking in the other’s features closely.

Narissa spoke first.

“Um, hi.” Maddie couldn’t see her face, but imagined she was either smiling shyly or blushing by the Ailim’s tone.

“Hello. Uhm.” The male looked flustered, making Maddie smile to herself.

While the two tried to awkwardly talk to one another, the others moved to the side to talk amongst themselves.

“I didn’t know there was another Ailim alive.” The regal girl said, looking at Narissa in surprise.

“We didn’t know either. We thought Narissa was the last of her kind.” Maddie said, turning her head from the two Ailims to the two who came with the male. “I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?”

“Oh, my apologies.” The elf spoke in what might have been a forced formal tone. “I’m Merenwen Elensar, and she’s-”

“I’m Amelia Venus, pleasure to meet you!” The girl stuck her hand out to Orion, causing the satyr to jump back in surprise. “Oh, sorry! Heh heh.”

“Well, I’m Madeline Juno, and the one you just scared is Orion Hirsch. And the one talking to your Ailim friend is Narissa Sealocke.” Maddie introduced.

“Oh, she has a pretty name. Nen is such a boring name.” Amelia waved her hand over at the Ailims. “Our friend’s name is Nen Laketon. He’s so quiet I’m surprised they’re having a conversation.”

“Well, whatever they’re talking about, they seem to really like it.” Orion noticed. “Both are blushing up a storm.”

“Really?” Amelia and Maddie turned to look over at the two, turning just as quickly when the two looked over at them in confusion.

“I think we have a lot to talk about.” Merenwen said, drawing the two girls’ attentions back to her.

“Yes. What should we talk about first?” Amelia asked.

“How about how you guys got here?” Maddie asked.

Merenwen recounted her small group’s journey from the other side of Kahi to the village, which Nen had said was named Uska, after the first Ailim.

Merenwen had been chosen in her city to perform a ritual with a seer, and the seer had given her the same prophecy Maddie had been given. The elf had left immediately to find Nen and found him with Amelia, both running, but neither explaining why to Mere nor the others again.

“You really don’t need to mind anything about it.” Amelia crossed her arms and pouted and the subject was dropped.

“We had been travelling for a very long time, I think about a year and a half, right, Amelia?” Mere asked her friend, who nodded.

“Yep, that is probably the right time. Thought we’d never make it in time.” Amelia responded.

“Well, it is good timing you arrived a few hours after us.” Maddie commented. “We would not have had any idea what to do if you had not shown up when you did.”

She quickly glanced over at the two Ailims, who were now standing closer to each other, fingers brushing against the others’. She smiled at her friend. She might not have known her for very long on their journey, but she knew their friendship would end at the moment.

“And what about you?” Amelia leant against Orion as they talked, smiling.

“Well, it might be a bit long.” Maddie started.

* * *

Epilogue (10 years later)

Madeline awoke from the same dream she had been plagued with since she was young. The nightmare of the blood-red hand. She couldn’t understand why she kept having the dream, or what it could mean.

She slid out of bed, padding out of her room to the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast. While her body was doing the tasks, her mind was busy wondering the meaning of the dream, and why it still plagues her.

There was a crash from one of the other bedrooms, snapping Madeline back to the present as she jumped, dropping the still hot frying pan in surprise. A curse came from the room, and a grumbling Merenwen came out, rubbing the side of her head.

Madeline smiled, gently picking up the pan to put back over the stove, getting a couple more eggs for her friend. Mere silently sat down at the table to wait for the food and the two ate in silence.

After they ate, Madeline had to go about her chores, while Mere cleaned up her room and the house for the company they would be hosting soon. The two barely had to speak anymore to each other to know such things; they had been living together for as long as they’ve known one another.

Soon, Madeline and Mere were finished their work, and sat down to rest. They didn’t rest for long when they heard the loud banging on the door, telling the two that their first group has made it.

Madeline opened the door, smiling a greeting at the couple in front of her. Orion held their eldest over his shoulders while Amelia was cradling their youngest against her chest.

“Auntie Maddie!” Hazel cried, her little arms spread wide with a huge smile over her face. The four year old was wiggling so much her father nearly lost his balance.

“Hey, everyone!” Madeline welcomed the small family in, and as soon as Orion let his daughter down, she zoomed around to find ‘Auntie Merrie’ who always hid when the half-satyr was loose in the house. “It’s wonderful to see you again after so long.”

Amelia laughed. “Yeah, it’s been a while, Maddie. I haven’t seen you since Lark was born.” She lifted the baby a bit from his resting place against her chest.

“It hasn’t been that long, has it?” Madeline looked at the child closely.

He was more like his mother, like how his sister is more similar to her father. He only inherited the ears and curly hair from his father, where his sister only inherited the eyes and hair colour from her mother. Madeline found it interesting the traits their children had gotten, and wondered who would get whose personalities with a sly smile.

“Are we first for once?” Orion asked as they reached the large living room.

“Yes, surprisingly. The others should be here soon, though.” Madeline answered before the adults heard a child’s cry of delight and the groan of the elf.

Soon Mere entered the room holding Hazel at arm’s length like she was a slimy newborn. The child was shrieking in laughter, trying to twist around to give her aunt a hug.

“I found Auntie Merrie! She was stuck in the closet!” The child giggled.

They stayed in the living room for a bit, Madeline playing with Hazel to help the elf from playing with her, until the door was knocked on again. Mere stood and quickly got the door, soon returning, helping Newt to the chair that everyone agreed was only his. Not even the children tried to sit in it when he wasn’t there. Galdor strode in behind them, looking as young as he had been when Madeline was young.

“Newy! Galdie!” Hazel sprung up and gave the two adults hugs around the knees.

The two elders barely sat down when another knock came on the door, and Madeline went to get the last group.

“Hello again, Madeline.” Narissa smiled her dazzling smile, leaning against Nen as the twins raced inside as soon as the door was opened.

“Hey, Nen, Narissa. Come in, the rest are inside.” Madeline gestured for the couple to enter and they made their way to the living room.

“We are sorry we are late. The kids wanted to swim a bit before coming.” Narissa apologized.

“It’s fine, Narissa. You aren’t too late, the others haven’t been here long.” Madeline replied as they entered the living room.

They saw the twins playing with Hazel while the other adults relaxed and chatted. They all turned to the three arriving and greeted the two.

Hazel noticed the new two and raced up to them, hugging them around the knees while shouting “Auntie Nay, Uncle Nen! You’re here!”

“Hey! You lose!” Saimi huffed, flipping her seaweed hair out of her face.

Hazel turned back to the twins in dramatic distress. “What? No! I was just saying hi to your mommy and daddy! I din’t lose yet!”

Inis groaned, waving his hand to whatever they were doing. “You lose, Haze, you didn’t go at your turn quick enough!”

“Nuh uh! Mommy!” Hazel ran to her mother who was cradling Lark. “I didn’t lose, did I? I was only saying hi to them, I woulda still had time, right?”

Amelia looked between the three children before sighing. “Saimi, Inis, you guys are older, aren’t you? Don’t tease Hazel like this, please.”

“Aww, but Aunt Am!” The twins whined. “We didn’t mean it!”

“Then please apologize to Hazel if you really mean it.” Amelia said in her fake serious tone.

The children hugged and Madeline’s attention went to the adults as the three started playing again.

They talked and brought the others up to speed on what had been going on with them since they last saw one another. Madeline learned about the birth of Lark and how he grew up, now only half a year old, about how Hazel was going to be going to the school all satyrs go to. She heard that the twins were growing up quickly, now passing their seventh birthday. Galdor told them about an adventure he and Newt had gone on before Newt had hurt his back several months ago. Madeline told the others she hadn’t done much in the past months while Mere told them a funny story to counter what Madeline had said, snickering when the girl glared at her.

It was nearing the end of the day when Madeline remembered her dream, and asked her friends about it. Nen paled, gazing at Madeline worriedly.

“What? Do you understand my dream?” Madeline asked, eager.

Nen slowly nodded his head before his eyes darted to his family. “May I tell you in private, Madeline?”

Madeline scrunched her eyebrows together, but nodded and got up, leading Nen to a spare bedroom at the other end of the house.

“What is it?” She asked as Nen shut the door.

“The creature you saw.”

Madeline waited for him to continue, but after several long pauses, she had to prompt him. “The creature?”

“That was the thing that was killing my species.”

 

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> And that is my story.  
> I think, if I had had more time, I would have added more to the story, but, if you guys want me to, I can add little side stories to the characters. Just tell me and I will.


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